The Year of the Rat Reading 2: The Multiple Identities of the Middle East

Bernard Lewis gets a bad rap in the Middle East. He is a consensus historian so he is villified by the left. He is a good writer though, so screw the left. If you are at Berkeley, and you have your head up your ass, then don't read this book.
I don't know why people have made him such a villain. His views on the Middle East aren't really offensive. He just says things that make people mad, since they are true. I guess many people don't want to hear the truth.
This book looks at how the people of the Middle East have many different identities that have been created by their faith, languages and have they have governed themselves. It is a short little read, but still quite illuminating. For instance, in his analysis of minorities living under Islam, he rightly asserts that Christians and Jews had a much easier time under the dhimmi system, since they were protected by religion then, than they are under current governments, which are deemed somewhat less than fully legitimate.
So if you want to have a quick read, then this book might be your cup of chai.